Bloodlines Stage 2
The Atlantis Shrine is the second stage in Castlevania: Bloodlines. It takes place in Greece, in the sunken ruins of a Greek goddess shrine located in the lost city of Atlantis. __TOC__ Overview The overall environment is portrayed with ancient Greek-era style architecture, with decorated columns, statues, and edifications sculpted in marble. Water plays a big role in this stage, as most of the shrine is submerged underwater. The level starts with our hero standing on the remains of a few ancient marble columns that somehow have defied the passing of time, albeit now being stranded in the ocean. Waves can be seen constantly crashing on them, while a red-hot sunset in the background complements this atmospheric scenery. No time for sightseeing, though, as soon enough a tribe of Minotaurs and some Fish Men will enter the scene and do battle. In the next section, the hero must make haste in reaching higher ground, as the area will be continuously flooding with water. Minotaurs wielding naginatas and a few Flaming Skulls will try to hinder his progress in an attempt to bring him down into a watery grave. Certain platforms are guarded by indestructible Fuzz Busters, so care must be taken not to rush mindlessly. A candle holding a 1up can be encountered midway along this room, although it requires that the player hits it from near the top of the screen and then risks it all by jumping down amidst the ascending waters in order to retrieve it. A Wizard awaits our heroes at the top as the first miniboss of this level. He has control over the elements and will command heavy rains to come down in an attempt to flood the stage and drown them. He's not much of a threat, though, as all he does is teleporting to the other side of the screen each time he's hit. Doing this a few times will quickly put him out of commission. Shortly after this, yet another miniboss fight ensues in the form of a pair of gigantic armored knights: the Heavy Armor and the Great Axe Armor. The Heavy Armor appears first, entering from the right side of the screen. He attacks with a spiked flail and can also perform high jumps in an attempt to crush the hero. Lure him into attacking and crouch near him, safe from the flail's reach, then start attacking; move when he jumps and reposition as he lands. Repeat the process until he's defeated. The Great Axe Armor comes next, this time entering from the left side of the screen. His attacks are somewhat similar, albeit he swings his battle axe more frequently and it doesn't leave much room underneath to remain safe, so instead rely in hit-and-run tactics to defeat him. After attacking with his weapon four times, he will perform a high jump and attempt to land, axe first, on the hero. Should he miss, his weapon will get stuck on the ground and he will remain vulnerable for a brief period of time while struggling to detach it, allowing the player to score a few free hits. Once all three minibosses have been defeated, in the next section the water will start receding, albeit slowly, making the rest of the stage easier to traverse. A few Medusa's Heads will attack on the way down. The next section is very similar to that at the beginning of the stage. A new type of enemy is introduced: the Barbarians, which, while not particularly difficult, are usually positioned in strategic spots. A few Pillars of Bones and Skele-Dragons are also encountered along the way, with the hero requiring to break pieces of the scenery at certain points, like statues and columns, in order to proceed. In the last room, and as the place dries up, a Golem will come back to life from its underwater prison and engage the hero at the bottom of the shrine as the area's end boss. Enemy Data Category:Flooding Areas Category:Ruins Category:Bloodlines Locations